Two solid days of fishing on a chilly Lake Tohopekaliga in central Florida yielded a full limit of 10 bass for Bassmaster Elite pro David Walker. His two-day total of 22-pounds, 4 ounces wasn't enough to advance him to Saturday's final, but by finishing 30th in a field of 200 anglers, he will leave town with a paycheck, always a nice start to a new season.

"We made the most of it," Walker said. "Of course we wanted to put the Cabela's/GEICO For Your Boat Ranger Z520c in the final 12 and fish again tomorrow, but we missed out by a few pounds. I'm still very pleased with the consistency I had over the two days. A lot of folks had their weights go down considerably today, which is unusual for a multi-day tournament, but I managed to catch enough to move up 20-some positions, so that was a very good start."

Walker pulled a limit of five fish Thursday, weighing 10 pounds, 12 ounces, which placed him in a tie for 53rd. He then added five more fish weighing 11 pounds, 8 ounces on Friday, lifting him up to 30th overall.

"I just kept grinding and I was rewarded with two limits," Walker said. "When you see the Day 1 leader (Todd Auten) go out and catch 22 pounds one day and then turn right around and catch zero fish the next, that shows you how hard it was out there. He didn't forget how to fish overnight; it was just tough going, and obviously the weather had a bunch to do with that."

The main goal of this week's event for Walker was to get some time on the water in a competitive environment in advance of the sport's biggest tournament of all, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic, scheduled for Feb. 21-23 on Lake Guntersville near Birmingham, Ala.

"This tournament was a good precursor to the Classic because a lot of the big hitters were out here getting tuned up," Walker said. "It's good to get on the water and make sure your boat and gear is set up the way you want it to be. The Classic is such a big deal and it requires all of your attention. If you can sort out all the other things on your boat, then you can focus 100 percent of your energy on fishing.

"I'd imagine I'll fish a few spots before then, but of course Guntersville is off limits for all of us until the warm-up deal the week beforehand. It'll be here before you know it, so I'll double- and triple-check everything and be ready to go."

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